The Lakewood house that O’Neil Ford built (and still watches over)

Photo by Jenifer McNeil Baker

When you live in a historic house designed by architect O’Neil Ford, it’s hard to pass up the chance to swoop up some of his personal belongings. Dan Patterson and his late wife, Gail, had that chance in 2007, when they found out there would be an auction of O’Neil Ford’s artifacts in San Antonio.

One item in particular that caught their attention was “this fabulous desk, O’Neil Ford’s original desk,” Patterson says. He couldn’t attend personally but bid $17,000 for it through a proxy.

The response was, “We’ll sell it to you for $22,000 and we’ll throw in a bust of O’Neil Ford.” Patterson hadn’t asked for the bust, so he made a counter offer for the desk. The response came back: “$18,500, and you have to take the bust.”

Sponsored Message

Patterson agreed to these terms. The desk and bust were shipped to his house, and as it turns out, “the desk didn’t fit. It was too big for the space,” Patterson says. “So I got a bust for free.”

O’Neil Ford’s bust, pictured at top, now adorns the grounds looking toward the house he designed in 1939 for Alfred and Juanita Bromberg.

WANT MORE?Click to sign up for the Advocate's weekly news digest and be the first to know what’s happening in Lakewood/East Dallas.